There is little in Ish Sodhi's statistics to suggest he is an international-quality legspinner, but New Zealand's selectors have seen enough in his aggressive approach and keen attitude to hand him a Test debut after only one full season of first-class cricket. Known chiefly for the turn he generates and the flight he fearlessly trusts, Sodhi's journey to top-level cricket has been a triumph of determination over significant odds.

Born in Ludhiana, in the Indian state of Punjab, Sodhi began his cricket in south Auckland, where his parents had migrated in his youth. Papatoetoe High School is not renowned for its cricket, and perhaps as a result, Sodhi had trouble establishing himself in regional representative teams, and may have also been a victim of Auckland's pitches that provide little aid to spin bowlers, and captains who are not versed in how to use them.

Undeterred, Sodhi left school early and a training stint with Dipak Patel and Matt Horne was when his career finally got some traction. A move to Northern Districts allayed the frustration of not being able to displace the spinner in the Auckland side, and after an encouraging 2012-13 season, Sodhi earned a trip to the subcontinent with New Zealand A, which cleared the path to the New Zealand side.Andrew Fidel Fernando

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